Michele StuevenThe culinary chameleon and mastermind who helped relaunch the Rose, Superba, Best Bet Pizza in Culver City, worked at Chez Panisse, and began his career at the age of 16 at Club 33 in Disneyland, Jason Neroni has once again sprouted something new: The Little Jabronis Social Club in Venice.
In the French-trained chef’s own words, “The intent is to escape, reconnect with one another, and be alive again. Leaving behind the daily gibber, jabber of minutia, and all the things that distract us. That is all I want. I have poured everything I have into this. It is 100% me and nothing less. This is my genesis. This is my new beginning; this is all of me.”
The Little Jabronis Social Club takes place in an original 1910 Venice Beach craftsman at a table for 10. The generous menu featuring the talents of the chef who established himself at Le Cirque, and Essex House in New York City is 75$ a head, 25$ for wine, and service is separate.
With his mission to bring connection and hospitality back on a micro scale, the gatherings are meant to be small, encouraging social growth and awareness amongst peers. There are house rules of decorum. No politics or religion will be spoken, no swearing and soft voices only. The evening sets its own tone as Neroni prepares dinner by himself in a tiny kitchen, gliding in and out to chat with his guests at the head of the long wooden table.
New Haven-style white pizza (Michele Stueven)
As Neroni puts it, the members’ only dinner experience is for misgrients, gregarious personalities, wunderkind creatives, illustrious talkers, rabble-rousers, and bon vivants.
A recent seven-course dinner was a cozy throwback to the Venice Beach, Beatnik era, and Harry Perry’s 1970 glory days. The space was packed full of art and stimulating conversation.
It started with a dramatic rose champagne sabrage and Neroni’s take on a New Haven-style white pizza using oysters instead of clams. That was followed by a parade of vegetable dishes, including sweet cabbage roasted for an hour in a bed of herbs. A salad of baby cauliflower mixed with cucumbers and olives was a cool companion to the cavatelli with shrimp and a perfect roast chicken with mint and other fresh herbs. Hot cookies from the oven crumbled into vanilla ice cream rounded out the evening under a sunburst chandelier.
For information on the ever-evolving club, membership, and reservations, email [email protected] or DM here. Be prepared for an unconventional dinner experience that might just signal what the future of dining out looks like.
Cookies and ice cream at The LIttle Jabronies (Michele Stueven)